I have a cement pond and was wondering the best was to rid the algae. It is green water and sticking to the bottom. I have a filter and pump and the filter is clogged with green slime and needs cleaned every few hours. I was wondering what you guys use to keep the algae away.
Algae
- Thread starter catman
- Start date
UV will take care of green water. You could run it a few weeks to clear the water, then run it only when needed throughout the summer. Really, if you get the pond cleared, plants will maintain it. The UV is good to have when introdcing new fish (unless you QT in a seperate area.)
What kind of stock list? And how often are they feed?
How many gallons?
Do you have any plants in it?
What kind of filter and pump do you run?
I use barley extract for string algae. I have never had green water and never will with the amount of plants I have. Green water is from extra nutrients in the water and sunlight. Green water can also be from new pond syndrome. This is when the BB has not had a chance to regulate the parms. Extra nutrients come in the form uneaten food, lawn fertilixer run off, and plant debris in the pond.
Theres a start...
What kind of stock list? And how often are they feed?
How many gallons?
Do you have any plants in it?
What kind of filter and pump do you run?
I use barley extract for string algae. I have never had green water and never will with the amount of plants I have. Green water is from extra nutrients in the water and sunlight. Green water can also be from new pond syndrome. This is when the BB has not had a chance to regulate the parms. Extra nutrients come in the form uneaten food, lawn fertilixer run off, and plant debris in the pond.
Theres a start...
There is about 1.5 dozen 1-3" goldfish and about 2 dozen fatheads minnows. Not sure on the amount of gallons but I think over 500. I thought about plants but wasn't sure how to do it with a cement bottom. I feed once a day with the amount of flakes they can eat in less than a minute. I have a 1000 gph pump with a box type filter that can be found at lowes. Thanks for the response.
Plants in a cement ponds are quite easy to do, just plant them up in aquatic planters.catman;3201629; said:
First link from google:
You can either wrap matting around the inside or plant with earth and no matting, best to go with matting.
As for your green water troubles, as mentioned before add a UV although I'd run it all the time.
There are various ways to get rid of string algae(blanket weed over here) most products work, I sorted ours out with Pond Balance(similar to the barley extract mentioned above). My problem was it messed up the water as it cleared it all out.
Lots of filter cleaning needed when it dies off, also during this period oxygen levels can get low, so it's best to run extra air.
Good luck
Uping the areation is a good idea. If you have a fountain sprayer or waterfall your good. As the algae breaks down, it uses oxygen so additional surface aggitation is recomended. Also, make sure water temps. are above 60 degrees. The Barley extract needs warmer water to get attivated.
For plants, any aquactic will do. Floaters need no substrate and all marginals can be planted in aquatic pots w/o any soil. You can use all gravel to discourage fish from digging up the roots. Also, by using no soil, the plants extract all there nurisment from the water column and not the soil. No soil also means no dirty water. Be sure to check planting depth on the plant tag. If it is one that needs to be shallow (0-6") you can place them on bricks closer to the surface.
For plants, any aquactic will do. Floaters need no substrate and all marginals can be planted in aquatic pots w/o any soil. You can use all gravel to discourage fish from digging up the roots. Also, by using no soil, the plants extract all there nurisment from the water column and not the soil. No soil also means no dirty water. Be sure to check planting depth on the plant tag. If it is one that needs to be shallow (0-6") you can place them on bricks closer to the surface.
It can also be helpful to add a starter culture of daphnia. These guys feast on euglenoids (the primary cause of green water) and other tiny organisms in the water column, and also make a great prey base for your fish. Any well-established fishless pond should have large numbers of these; I find cattle ponds are a good source.